Transforming the Tide for Transformation

Yesterday, I was asked to give a talk on the City of Malabon University (CMU) for AB Political Science Students on a Lecture-Forum entitled "Political Science and its Place in the Society" as partial fulfillment of the requirements of PolSci 402 (Planning Method). Not being a polsci major, I considered talking about my "political" experiences as a development activist. But gauging that they need something more, I resorted to Saul Alinsky, the legendary community organizer.

Here is the presentation.

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Reinventing Cory and the Dream of Democratic Nationhood

by James Miraflor

When Corazon Cojuangco Aquino died on the first day of August 2009, she as the Philippine symbol of liberal democracy did not die. Rather, she was sealed forever; and as things sealed forever, she was sealed with utmost and absolute purity of image.

This, for things sealed forever are either sealed with utmost adulation or absolute hate. For Cory, it was the former: at the day she died, everything people hated about her died with her; everything they loved about her was forever imprinted in the mantle of national memory that clothes the next generation.

Scenarios on ConAss Resolution

Arroyo is Paranoid Android. Threatened by the prospects of post-presidency blues (read: legal cases), Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is on a grand plan to rock Philippine politics by becoming its first female Prime Minister.

I have received this email last week:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Corazon Juliano-Soliman 〈dinky@incitegov.org〉

Date: Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 6:29 PM

Subject: [changepolitics] express outrage over illegal and arrogant politics of CONASS

To: change politics

Greetings colleagues and comrades!

In the stillness of night the allies of the administration in Congress pierced and stabbed our backs by betraying public trust (the little that we had on them). They passed a resolution to convene a constituent assembly! They will convene it with out the Senate...at least this is one option that they have, to move the process forward.

Be a Hero! Defeat Con-Ass!

Migrants, Remittance-dependence, and the Philippine Economy

As our contribution for the Philippine process of the Peoples’ Global Action on Migration, Development and Human Rights to prepare for the 2nd Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) which was hosted by the Philippines on October 27–30, I was tasked to present for the Freedom from Debt Coalition on the effects of migrants remittances on the Philippine economy.

What I did was to look on important macroeconomic indicators, specifically employment, fiscal indicators, and monetary indicators (many of which were made available by the Philippine government for the public on the NSCB website). This was my presentation:

FDC presentation for Migrants

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Proposals to Resolve the Recurring Oil Crisis in the Philippines

I have written a piece, originally for Palag Na! but later for Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Transportasyon (PMT), that is meant to consolidate and give a framework for proposals, both popularly demanded and what we managed to come up with, to resolve the recurring oil crisis in the Philippines. This is in the context of the oil price crisis of mid-2008. But the proposals, I think, remain valid even if the financial crisis and the global recession eroded the price of petroleum recently.

As with any alternative, the long-term and strategic changes needed is inevitably tied with the short-term and the mid-term - so the short-term measure of regulating the domestic downstream oil industry is inevitably related to the mid-term measure of supply-side management and industrial structure and the long-term vision of demand-side management towards oil independence, assuming oil to be a finite resource. Realizing these proposals, of course, must be accompanied with better service standards from the end of the transportation industry (and workers) themselves, something which can be developed later on.